with or without you
by Skandar-Loves-Redvines
Summary: Make 'em do a double take, baby. -AustinAlly drabbles, featuring romance, friendship, and various snack foods beginning with the letter 'p'
1. TEXAS

**i. texas**

Sometimes, I wish I hadn't read Ally's Book. And then sometimes I wish that I had read more. And sometimes I just really want to know how Dez managed to find a kangaroo and a llama in less than a day. Like, where do you even-

Wait, no.

_Focus on Ally!_

Right, Ally. Honestly, sometimes I can't help but wonder why that girl is so neurotic. Why is her little crush on the cellphone vendor guy such a huge deal? It's not like I care!

But, come on! Austin is _so _a city in Texas! That diary entry could totally have been about me! So I march right up to her, and confront her.

More or less.

"Ally Dawson, you listen to me right now!"

Cue hushed whispers. That's right, Sonic Boom customers, you listen to me. Austin Moon is making a scene.

"Hey, Austin, I don't know if you noticed, but I'm kind of busy trying to write _your _song, so if you could just-" I cut her off before that speech gets any longer.

"That's great, but I need you to listen to me."

"Um, okay." She puts her pen down, and turns around in her chair. I give myself a mental pat on the back. Score one for Austin.

Oh wait. I have to actually talk about this now, don't I? Wow, I really didn't think that one through. Um, okay. Stalling, stalling, stalling.

"I just wanted to tell you… that… well, you know."

This is more awkward than Dez at a school dance. What do I say? Wait, girls like it when they get complimented, right?

"Those shoes are really nice. Are they new?"

Perfect. Because my hair doesn't make me look gay enough. Way to go, Austin. Fifteen points to Moon house.

"Did you really just interrupt my song-writing for that?" she snaps. "You realize that you're supposed to be singing this on tonight's webcast, right?"

Touchy touchy. Wait, why am I having this conversation?

"Uh, yeah, sorry."

I walk away, wondering what the hell just happened. And then it hits me.

"AUSTIN IS A CITY IN TEXAS!" I hear myself scream. "You hear me, Ally Dawson. You have no right to be mad at me for thinking that you liked me! _No right!_ Also, my eyes are totally kind, and my hair flops in _all the right places!_"

Heh, I told her. I stride proudly out of Sonic Boom, leaving her all confused and stuff.

Austin – 1 : Ally – 0

* * *

><p><strong>It's 2:30AM. I'm so sorry for this.<strong>

**This entire drabble series is dedicated to Jenny (WIZARDOLOGY), Pearl (PrincessPearl), and Aimy (lonely hands) for getting me addicted to this show. Also, happy sixteenth birthday to Ross Lynch!**

**Please don't favourite without reviewing!**

**-Dri**


	2. HAIR

**ii. hair**

"There's no way that's his natural hair color," mutters Ally absentmindedly, scribbling something in her songbook.

"Um, what?"

Ally looks up to see Trish leaning over the counter, peering at her curiously, massive sunglasses hanging off of her nose, courtesy of her new job at Specs Appeal.

"You just said 'there's no way that's his natural hair color'," Trish clarifies. "Who are you talking about?"

Ally turns a startlingly amusing tomato-red.

"No- no one," she stammers, chewing rapidly on her hair. "Don't know what you're talking about. _Wow, _is that the time? I really need to get going. Bye, Trish!"

"_Hold it right there, Ally Dawson."_

Ally freezes as Trish walks forward with her Interrogating Face on.

"There are only two people you could possibly be talking about," she starts. "One is Lady Gaga and the other is Austin." Ally lets out a guinea pig-like _meep._

"And last time I checked, Lady Gaga was female," continues Trish. "Wanna tell me why you're thinking about Austin Moon's hair?"

Ally shakes her head violently.

"No, I really don't," she squeaks. "Aren't you late for your shift at the store?"

"The sunglasses can wait," Trish grins. "Your crush on Austin is clearly more important."

"I don't have a crush on Austin! Haven't we gone through this already?" Ally moans.

"Then why are you daydreaming about his hair?" smirks her curly-haired best friend.

"I'm _not!" _says Ally, flushing a deep red. "I was just _wondering _if that was his natural hair color."

"Yeah, you're _so _not crushing on him," Trish says, shaking her head.

"Shut up, I'm not!" Ally cries, pretending to swing at her friend. "It's just a really weird color, you know? It's almost white. And he's so pale, it's really weird."

"But you _liiiike_ it," Trish sings. "You like his hair, and you like him!"

"You need to get a life," Ally sighs. "You wanna come cloud-watching with me?"

Trish's attempts at protesting grow softer and softer as Ally drags her out of the store. Once he's sure they're gone, a very confused Austin steps out of the back room.

"What does she mean 'it's a really weird color'?"

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><p><strong>3:20AM. Can't wait to see how ridiculous this looks in the morning.<strong>

**Once again, please no favouriting without reviewing.**

**Thanks,**

**Dri**


	3. KISS

**iii. kiss**

It had been several months since their first encounter. Some had flown by, some had taken it at a stride, a couple had jogged. But months had passed, nevertheless, and Austin Moon found himself sitting beside one brown-haired, chipmunk-eyed Ally Dawson, ten seconds before the new year.

"TEN…"

"So," started Austin awkwardly.

"NINE…"

"So," repeated Ally. "So? Is that the best conversation starter you can think of? It's New Year's Eve!"

"EIGHT…"

"You want me to ask you what your New Year's resolution is, don't you?" he sighed. Ally nodded eagerly.

"SEVEN…"

"Ally Dawson, please tell me what your resolution is?"

"SIX…"

"Well," she started, "I plan to start learning the banjo, and work on some new songs, and-"

"FIVE…"

"-try out that new shampoo that Trish mentioned, and aim to get straight A's this semester, and-"

"FOUR…"

"Hey, did you know that it's a tradition for people to kiss at midnight?" Austin interrupted, running a hand through his hair.

"THREE…"

"Wait, what?"

"TWO…"

He leaned in-

"ONE!"

-and somewhere along the way, lips met, hands touched, violins played. You know, the usual.

"That was surprisingly nice," murmured Austin, breaking away from Ally. The brunette female in question raised an eyebrow.

"_Surprisingly _nice?" she asked, looking offended.

"Well, no, not like that," he mumbled. "It's just that… you know." His voice seemed to be getting quieter and quieter, until, at last, it was nothing but a whisper. "I thought that first kisses were supposed to be messy and awkward."

"First kisses?" repeated Ally. "Wait, what are you- _oh my god!" _Austin buried his face in his hands.

"Please shut up," he groaned. "It's really not that big a-"

"_Oh my god," _she squealed. "Was that really your first kiss?"

"I'll pay you to never mention this again."

"Even _I've _had my first kiss! Are you serious?" she rambled.

"Shut up, shut up, _shut up," _he glared.

"But you're _Austin Moon_. Girls love you! Why haven't you kissed anyone yet?" Ally demanded.

"Because maybe none of those bimbos were right for me!" Austin snapped.

And then there was silence.

"Oh."

"For a girl so smart, you're really slow, aren't you?" he asked sarcastically, running a hand through his hair. The slightly higher pitch of his voice gave it away, however, and despite his attempts to turn away, she noticed the red in his cheeks.

Before he could shuffle away, she grabbed his arm with a terrifyingly firm grip for a girl of four feet and eight inches.

"Hey, Austin – what have you heard about _second _kisses?"

And she leaned back in, and they started all over again.

* * *

><p><strong>I wanted to try out a scenario where <em>Austin<em> was the one who hadn't kissed anyone, rather than it always being Ally. This probably turned out terribly, but I wanted to experiment, you know?**

**Dedicated to Mad (chasingafterstarlight), who recently joined the A&A fandom, and Jenny (WIZARDOLOGY), who made me want to update. Love you guys!**

**Just a reminder – these drabbles all stand alone. They're not connected at all, and they've all got their own storyline. None of the information from one drabble will ever carry over to another, unless it's canon.**

**And, once again, please don't favourite without reviewing!**

**Much love,**

**Dri **


	4. WISH

**iv. wish**

She has her first kiss (yes, _ever_) backstage while taping an interview for the Helen Show.

"Oh my god, what if they don't like our song? What if they think the lyrics were horrible? What if they stop watching our music videos? What if-"

"Please shut up."

"Please make me."

So he does. With his lips. And a bit of tongue.

And he thinks that if he were to die today, maybe, just maybe, he would die a happy man.

_((his mother always said to be careful what you wish for))_

* * *

><p>She doesn't cry.<p>

Not when she hears the news, not when she sees the headstone, not even when rumors are spread about his apparent drug usage.

She's not sad, or angry, or upset - she's just empty...

All of a sudden, all that's left of the eager songwriter who once wore dresses in every color of the rainbow is a lonely little girl with nowhere to go.

_((all she wants to do is join him in his kingdom of forever))_

* * *

><p>This, she thinks bitterly, would make for a wonderfully Romeo and Juliet-esque song. Two best friends who finally find love, but are separated by a tragedy? God, it's like a Taylor Swift song, her overtired brain snaps, punctuating each thought with the violent replacement of the pillows on the sofa.<p>

All she needs is for Dez to fall in love with Trish or something ridiculous like that, and she's all set to write a freaking Disney Channel sitcom about her life.

She almost giggles, falling back against the cushions, but then she smells his trademark cologne (ninety-nine percent sweat, one percent perfume, one hundred percent _him_) through the threads of the fabric, and her throat swells up again, overwhelmed by the looming cloud of _nothingness _that's been hanging over her head for days.

_((she wonders if he's watching her with that lopsided grin of his))_

* * *

><p>She goes on a date with some boy from school a month after the incident. Adrian? Alvin? Anton? What does it matter anyway? It's not the same, not at all. Every time they kiss, she's only ever going to picture his soft blonde hair, the peppermint taste of his mouth, the feeling of her hands in his, perfectly aligned and so close it was as though they were made for each other.<p>

She scratches the outline of his name against her skin every day, hoping that one day he'll come to take her with him.

_((he hopes she knows that he's tracing the patterns of her lyrics into the sky))_

* * *

><p>They're reunited on the one-year anniversary of his passing. He's disappointed in her for giving up so easily, so weakly, but he can't deny that he's glad to see her – happier than he's ever been. Because now, they're not walking on the restricting grasses of the mortal world. Hell – they're floating, flying, <em>soaring<em>.

And now, the months and months they've spent skirting around each other are nonexistent, because in this new world of sunny skies and floor tiles made of clouds, they've got today and tomorrow and forever to live.

_((they've never been happier))_

* * *

><p><em>Wednesday, October 31st, 2012<em>

HIT AND RUN VICTIM IDENTIFIED AS INTERNET SENSATION AUSTIN MOON

_Thursday, October 31st, 2013_

MIAMI TEENGER ALLY DAWSON COMMITS SUICIDE AT SITE OF BOYFRIEND'S DEATH

* * *

><p><strong>This got quite morbid. I swear, when I started out writing, it was all about their first kiss. It just got a bit… weird. Um.<strong>

**In other news, I'm upping the rating for this, especially because of this one. Not just for swearing and stuff, but also because of implied character deaths, self-harm, and suicide.**

**Also, fun fact - Adrian, Alvin, and Anton are all cities in Texas. They also all begin with the letter 'A', in case you hadn't noticed. Sound familiar?**

**Anyway, please don't favourite without reviewing!**

**Much love,**

**Dri**


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